Refrigeration



Sept. 10, 1935. -D. BENNETT v lol-3,945

' REFRIGERATION Filed June 6, 1934 I'I'H I I l I l I I I Hubert BennettvINVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 10, 1 935 "PATENT OFFICE ;mamREERIGERA'HON Hubert D. Bennett, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Toledo ScaleManufacturing Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of New JerseyApplication June 6, 1934, Serial No. '729,282

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of refrigeration and one of itsprincipal objects is the provision of a process and apparatus which maybe employed for producing. refrigerated conditions 5 at will and whichutilizes materials that will keep indefinitely at ordinary temperaturesand remain at all times ready for use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for producingvrefrigerated conditions, the materials for which are ,inexpensive andreadily obtainable. 1

Another bbject of the invention is the provision of a process and'apparatus for utilizing the endothermic effect of dissolvingsubstances.

And still a further object is the provision of a process and apparatusfor producing refrigerated conditions, the materials utilized in whichmay 'be readily and inexpensively reconditioned for reuse.

Other objects and advantages will be. apparent from the followingdescription, in which reference is had. to the accompanying drawmgillustrating preferred embodiments of my invention and wherein similarreference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawingz- I Figure I is a Vertical, partly sectional view showinga simple form of apparatus 'embodying myingention;

Figure II is a Vertical, partly sectional view illustrating a moreelaborate form thereof.

The process of my invention may be practiced with or without the use ofthe apparatus of my invention and the apparatus shown in the drawing isto be regarded as illustrative only.

Referring first to Figure I of thedrawing, a base I, which may be of anypreferred design, supports a container 2 having an outer wall 3 and anouter bottom l which may be formed of any suitable material, such, forexample, as formaldehyde urea resin. Supported within the outer wall 3-and outer bottom l and separated there- Extending downwardly into thejar 6 and supported by the rim of the jar mouth isa cup-like container9, preferably made of material which is a good conductor of heat.'Enclosing the opening of the insulated container 2 and the cup-likecontainer 9 is a heat insulating 'cover Ill. By removing the cover |0and the cup-like container 9 the interior of the jar 6 is madeaccessible.

The jar 6 is adapted to contain commodities to be cooled, such,for'example, as beverages.` The cup-like container 9 contains a chargeof a substance I, the aqueous solution of which has the property ofabsorbing heat while the substance is dissolving. Various combinations,such as ammonium nitrate, ammonium dichromate, ammonium oxalate andurea, may be employed for 10 this puz'pose. Because of its heatabsorption effect in calories per gram, I' prefer to employ ammoniumoxalate. Ammonium nitrate is less expensive than ammonium oxalate andits heat absorbing effect is nearly as great. The heat e absorbed aseach gram of ammonium nitrate dissolves is lsubstantially the same asthat absorbed in meltingla gram of ice, while the heat' absorbed as eachgram of ammonium oxalate is dissolved ,is somewhat greater than thatabsorbed in melting a gram of ice.

When water is added to the charge in the cuplike container 9 theammonium oxalate or equivalent substance goes into solution, thetemperature of thesolution drops and heat passes from the 'commodity inthe jar li'through the conducting Wall of the cup-like container 9 intothe cold solution until the temperature of the commodity in the jar 6and the .temperature of thjsolution in the cup-like container 9 reach astateof equilibrium. 'I'hus beverages or other commodities in the jar 6can be cooled wheneverfdesired by merely adding to the substance'iltthecup-like container 9 enough water to dissolve the substance containedtherein.

Such cooling materials as ice and solid carbon dioxide absorb heat atordinary temperatures and thus lose their 'eifectiveness, but thematerials utilized in my process and apparatus can be kept indefinitelyeven under desert conditions and 40 made td exert their cooling effect,by merely adding water, whenever desired. In fact, the hotter and drierthe-atmospheric conditions under which my process and apparatus isemployed the more readily' the effiacy of the materials utilized can berestored, since theiremcacy is restored by the evaporation of the waterof solution. They may be dried by exposure to the atmosphere likesolutions of ordinary table salt. Each jar may be 5'0 supplied with a`plurality of charged cups and the cups of dried material may be used inrotation. If at any time it is deslred to h'a'sten the drying, this maybe done by subjecting the solution or partly dried material to heat. Theheat employed 55,

'vga

should be low enough, however, to avoid decomposition of the substancebeing dried.

By using the apparatus illustrated in Figure II of the drawing or byusing a species of my process in which solvent is precooled,temperatures may be dropped through wide ranges. In the form of deviceillustrated in Figure II of the drawing a base la is surmounted by acontainer 2a having an outer wall 3a and bottom 4a., enclosing heatinsulating material 5a, and a jar 6a provided with an outlet pipe 7a andfaucet 8a. the container so far described being similar in' constructionand arrangement to that illustrated in Figure I. Extending into the jar6a and supportedupon the rim of the jar mouth is a cuplike container 9acharged with a substance lla, such for example as ammonium oxalate, thedissolving of which has an endothermic effect.

A second container |2a is supported above the container 2a so as toclose the mouth of the container 2a, the container |2a having an outerWall I 3a and bottom Ma, insulating material |5a and a Vjar lGa withheat conducting walls; the construction and arrangement of the parts ofthe container 12a so far mentioned being generally similar to theconstruction and arrangement of the parts of the device shown in FigureI. The jar |6a is provided with an outlet Ha and a manually Controlledcock lBa by means of which the liquid contents of the jar IGa may bedischarged into the cup-like container 9a.

The capacity of the cup-like container |9a, charged with substance 2|asimilar to or identical with substance Ila, is relatively great andpreferably approaches one-half the total capacity of the jar IGa. w

A third container 22a is supported above the second container |2a so asto close the mouth of the container |2a, the container 22a having anouter wall 23a and bottom 24a, insulating material 25a and a jar 26awith heat conducting walls; the construction and arrangement of theparts of the container 22a so far mentioned being generally similar tothe construction and arrangement of the parts of the device shown inFigure I. The jar 26a is provided with an outlet 21a and a manuallycontrolled cock 28a by means of which the liquid contents of the jar 28amay be vdischarged into the cup-likev container |9a.

The capacity of the cup-likev container 29a, charged with substance 3|asimilar to or identical with substance Ha, is relatively great andpreferably approaches one-half the total capacity of the jar 26a.

Enclosing the opening in the container 22a and the cup-like container29a is a heat insulatlng cover 39a.

The cup-like containers 29a, 19a and 9a being charged with ammoniumoxalate or equivalent substance and the jars 26a and I 6a containingwater, while the jar 6a contains a beverage or other commodity to becooled, enough water is added to the substance in the jar 29a todissolve the substance. Heat is absorbed in dissolvingthe substancecontained in the cup-like container 29a, the heat thus absorbed beinglargely extracted from the water contained in the jar 26a. After thetemperatures of the solution in the cup-like container 29a and the waterin the jar 26a have reached a' state of equilibrium, the cock 28a isopened and the cold water (lischarged from i the jar 26a into thecup-like container |9a where further absorption of heat takes place asthe substance in the cup-like container Iga dissolves. Thus the water inthe jar |6a is cooled to a temperature below that reached in the jar26a. The hypercooled water from the jar IBa is then discharged throughthe cock lila, the temperature of the resulting solution in the cup 9athus` being dropped still lower. By such series of cooling steps thetemperature of the contents of the final jar 6a may be loweredapproximately to the freezing point of a saturated solution of theammonium oxalate or equivalent substance. Obviously the step-by-steptemperature lowering process above described may include as many stepsas are required to attain any desired temperature above the freezingpoint of the saturated solution.

The embodments of my invention herein shown and described are to beregarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that theinvention is susceptible to Variation, modification and change withinthe spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a process of refrigeration, the steps of bringing together asolvent and a solute the dissolving of which has an endothermic effect,in juxtaposition to a second solvent and separated therefrom by a heatconducting partition, whereby said second solvent is cooled, then addingsaid cooled second solvent to a solute the dissolving of which has anendothermic effect, in juxtaposition to a commodity to be cooled andseparated therefrom by a heat conducting partition.

2. In a process of refrigeration, the steps of successively addingsolvents to solutes the dissolving of which has an endothermic effect,the solvent of each succee'ding addition being precooled by theendothermic effect of dissolving the solute of a preceding batch, thematerials of each batch being prevented from comingling with materialsof other batches.

3. In a refrigerating apparatus. a heat ifisulated container, a solventcontained therein, a second container having heat conducting wallsextending into the first said container, a material the dissolving ofwhich has an endothermic effect contained in said second container, athird container, said third container being heat insulated and adaptedto contain a material to be cooled, a fourth container, said fourthcontainer having heat conducting walls extending into said thirdcontainer and containing a solute the dissolving of which has anendothermic effect, and means for conducting the solvent from said firstcontainer into said fourth container.

4. In a refrigerating device, a series of heat insulated containers, asecond series of containers each of which has heat conducting Walls ex'-tending into one of said heat insulated containers, each container ofsaid second series containing a material the dissolving of which has anendothermic effect, and means for conducting a solvent from certain ofsaid heat insulated conltainers into certain containers of said secondseries.

HUBERT D. BENNETT.

